Scurvy is a disorder of vitamin deficiency arising from a lack of vitamin C, also known as ascorbic acid. Vitamin C is essential for immune function, wound healing and collagen production. Collagen is a necessary component of connective tissue in your bones, cartilage, skin and ligaments. Therefore, vitamin C plays an important role in keeping your skin and bones healthy. It also helps maintain healthy gums and teeth. Scurvy affects all these tissues. Symptoms include gum disease, swollen and bleeding gums, loose teeth, bruising of your skin, pain in your joints, slow wound healing, and general weakness. Scurvy is not common in the United States but most often occurs in elderly people with poor nutrition.
Rickets
Rickets is a vitamin deficiency disorder caused by a lack of vitamin D. The job of vitamin D in your body is to promote the growth and development of your bones. It does this by helping your body absorb calcium from either a dietary source or from a dietary supplement. Rickets manifests as skeletal deformities such as bowlegs and scoliosis -- a curvature in the spine; retarded growth; soft and weak bones, resulting in bone fractures; decreased muscle tone; and dental cavities. It's not that common in the United States but is more likely to be experienced by children from 6 months to 2 years of age. According the the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the prevalence of rickets is five cases for every million in children ranging from 6 months to 5 years old. The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends that breastfed babies receive supplementation of vitamin D starting from the first month of birth to prevent a vitamin D deficiency.